


be my muse?

by crazyqueerecrivain



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, Closeted Waverly, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Journalist!Nicole, Lawyer!Dolls, Musician!Waverly, Waverly and Doc are best buds, coffee shop AU, musician au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-24
Updated: 2016-08-16
Packaged: 2018-07-26 10:59:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7571578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crazyqueerecrivain/pseuds/crazyqueerecrivain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Waverly Earp is a young law student working at a coffee shop when she decides to post a cover online. The video kind of goes viral and her life is turned upside down. A certain redhead journalist seems to be a constant in her life and things go from there.</p>
<p>Nicole Haught is a freshman journalist looking for a big break but when she finds one, she also kind of finds love? </p>
<p>or </p>
<p>Waverly's a musician and Nicole's a journalist. things happen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. okay

“Wave, you okay?” Her sister’s voice shakes Waverly out of her state of fatigue. Between early shifts at Shorty’s, long days in the law library, and nights out with Wynonna or Doc, the bags under her eyes had intensified in the past six months. 

“Yeah, yeah, fine.” She brushes off Wynonna, before returning to the cash register, thinking maybe, a little human interaction with cranky people who haven’t had their morning coffee yet, will keep her head out of the clouds.

Gus appears from the staff room and shoots Waverly a look. It’s the same look Waverly’s gotten since she was young. It’s the look Gus shot her whenever she was working herself too hard. It’s the look Gus shot her when she insisted she skip the seventh grade in order to get ahead. It’s the look Gus shot her when she pleaded with the older woman to let her take classes over the summer. It’s the look Gus has dubbed ‘the Waverly look’. “I’m taking tomorrow off I promise.” Waverly smiles. Her mother-figure doesn’t seem to believe her, but gives Waverly a small, approving smile nonetheless.

Once the businessmen crowd had passed, the mom crowd appears. You’d think the businessmen would be crankier; after all it’s earlier and they have important meetings to get to. You’d be wrong. With a smile, a toss of her hair and a little bit of flirting, Waverly could neutralize the businessmen. During her undergrad years she had worked as a bartender and oftentimes those skills helped her with cranky men.

Moms though; moms are a tough crowd. Waverly would smile her heart out and make faces at the babies and ask the toddlers questions, but the moms always get mad. She’s tried just serving them, doing the bare minimum, yet still they get angry. They have some playgroup they just have to get to, or they don’t want to run into another mom because little Jenny doesn’t like little Harry. 

For what it’s worth, Waverly really likes the mom crowd, or rather, the kids that come with the mom crowd. She loves seeing the babies faces light up when she smiles or makes a funny face. She loves seeing the toddler’s beam when she asks them if they’ll be paying, or if they’d like a glass of water of their very own. If she’s lucky a mom will even say please and thank you and be civil towards Waverly.

Today is not a lucky day. After six different mothers remarking on how the smell of the Windex was going to make their poor baby sick and two different mothers insisting they got the wrong coffee, even though Waverly is certain they got the exact thing they ordered, Waverly slumps over on the counter next to the cash register, rubbing her eyes. “Can I get a cappuccino to go?”

Waverly shoots up at the new voice, not because being caught resting on the job would ruin her reputation, but because this voice is younger. In front of the cash register is a redhead, probably two or three years older than Waverly with the best dimples. Waverly’s no stranger to dimples; in fact she grew up thinking they weren’t desirable because her annoying older sister had them (or at least that’s what she told people because she’d be damned if ten-year-old academic Waverly actually loved her sixteen-year-old troubled sister). Waverly couldn’t deny this woman’s dimples though.

“Uh, yeah, I uh, that’ll be 3.75.” Waverly barely manages to babble out. She’ll admit it; she’s flustered. The woman just seems to look through her, like she knows exactly what Waverly’s thinking. In Waverly’s defense, the young people generally don’t show up for another three hours, so she’s currently in ‘annoying mom’ mode not ‘hot person’ mode. 

The redhead slips a five out of her pocket and to Waverly. “I”m Nicole, Nicole Haught. I’ve been meaning to come by here.” The woman, Nicole, drawls, outstretching her hand, her brown eyes still not leaving Waverly’s. At this point, Waverly’s pretty sure her brain isn’t functioning at full capacity, but she does manage to shake Nicole’s hand. “Who knows, if the coffee’s any good maybe I’ll write a piece on this place.” She seems to be content with confused look on Waverly’s face and it’s a good thing Doc is paying attention because he bops around the back, making the drink. Clumsily, Waverly makes change and hands it back to the woman who continues on.“I’m a journalist.” Nicole explains as Doc pushes the cup towards the newcomer, who in turn smiles and leaves her card on the counter.

Nicole is barely out of the café before Waverly is turning the card over in her hands. “Haught, of course.” She sighs, turning toward Doc, who just has a bright and knowing smile on his face. Waverly was definitely new to her sexuality, and Doc was the only one who knew about it. Doc and Waverly had met in college, despite the fact that, at the time, he had been sleeping with Waverly’s older sister, Wynonna. They had become fast friends and stayed that even after Wynonna had bailed. Before Doc could say anything, Waverly starts to exhale words. “Okay but did you see her dimples? And her smile? Oh god her smile! Doc I know I’m new to this, but are all girls this cute?” Waverly knows she isn’t really thinking about the words she spews, but in the moment she doesn’t really care. 

Doc just chuckles. “I did see both her dimples and her smile, but darlin’ she’s got nothing on your sister,” he winks, making Waverly roll her eyes and groan. Despite the fact that Doc has moved on from Wynonna, he loves to torture Waverly with loaded remarks about Waverly’s sister. “But yes, the vast majority of girls are quite attractive.” Waverly sighs, a smile on her face. 

“Why did I ever think I was straight?” Doc’s probably not the best person for the rhetorical question, but she’s not out to anyone else and her online community of women who love women just don’t provide the immediate response she’s looking for. 

“Well I do believe that you can ask your dear sister that, as she still believes you are.” Waverly rolls her eyes, considering giving Doc a playful whack, but Wynonna appears, and the conversation ends. 

* * *

Waverly isn’t an exceptional singer, but she like to play around with her guitar and chords, and she writes some lyrics. Mostly, she just likes to learn songs on her guitar and show off at parties. Since Wynonna is taking her 4:30 shift at Shorty’s they get a night in. Waverly insists that they order pizza, watch a movie, then make sundaes, just like they did before Daddy died. Wynonna insists that she facetimes with Xavier while they wait for the pizza, so they compromise with that. 

With almost an hour of free time, Waverly decides she’ll learn a new song on her guitar. She putzes around Ultimate Guitar Tabs and YouTube for far too long. Each time she settles on a song, all she can think about it Nicole Haught and her stupid smile and her stupid dimples and her stupid face and her stupid voice and man Waverly’s screwed. She’s really hopping that the the coffee’s good enough for the redhead to return and that the redhead isn’t straight. 

She finds “Girls Like Girls”, but it’s just too overt for Waverly. She digs it, but she’s not quite ready to belt out ‘girl like girls like boys do’ in her room, where Wynonna can hear her. From there she finds “Cliff’s Edge”, but it’s still not the right fit. When she finally clicks on the video for “She Keeps Me Warm”, it clicks. In a way she feels like she’s invading Nicole’s privacy because for all she knows, Nicole doesn’t even like women. In a different way, she’s shameless. She can see herself and Nicole in the same position as the two in the video and it makes her smile.

“Wave! Pizza!” Wynonna’s voice comes from down the stairs, so Waverly puts her guitar down and meanders down to her sister. “What’s up? You look like you’re thinking.” Wynonna asks, shoving a piece of pizza down her throat without a plate, napkin or silverware.

Waverly scofs, handing her older sister a napkin at the very least. Reluctantly, Wynonna takes it, the inquisitive look still in her eye. “I’m uh, I’m thinking of putting a video of me singing on YouTube.” Truthfully, she hadn’t been thinking about it until the words escape her mouth. The look in Wynonna’s eyes and the smile on her face tells Waverly that it was going to happen, despite any doubts she may have. 

* * *

Nicole first sees the video when it’s got 150 views. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s breathtaking. Waverly (Nicole assumes this is name based on the girl’s YouTube account, and Nicole thinks it just fits) sits in the grass, wearing what Nicole can only presume is a turquoise bathing suit; her guitar perched on her lap. Her smile is what really gets Nicole, but her voice is nothing to sneeze at. 

The song choice brings the barista’s sexuality into question and Nicole would be lying if she said it didn’t make her heart beat a little faster. The only gayer song has to be “Girls Like Girls”, but “She Keeps Me Warm” is pretty freaking gay. 

The next time Nicole sees the video, it has over 400,00 views, thousands of likes, and hundred of comments. The comments range from fangirling, to asking about Waverly's sexuality, to trashing the brunette’s voice to sweet girls tagging their girlfriends. Nicole finds herself getting angry at the hate and frustrated with the intrusion of Waverly’s privacy. 

She doesn’t really have a leg to stand on in protecting Waverly, but for some reason, it’s just something her mind wants. Well, Nicole knows the reason, but that’s besides the point. She wants to go back to the coffee shop and ask out the shorter girl, but she’s not sure if it’s creepy now. She does have a sneaking suspicion her crush won’t dissipate, but she can hope.

Nicole’s editor makes the choice for her: the ball’s started rolling on the piece on Shorty’s. 

* * *

“Waverly, Waverly, Waverly!” Waverly is in the middle of a nice dream when Wynonna’s shouts wake her from her slumber. She should have known having two days off at Shorty’s in one week would mean Wynonna waking her up at one point or another. Sighing, Waverly peeled off her covers, but before she’s even out of bed, the older Earp is jumping on top of her. “Waves, when did you last check your YouTube video or email?” Wynonna presses, searching for Waverly’s phone on her bedside table.

“I don’t know,” Waverly grumbles groggily. “YouTube: I haven’t checked since I posted it. I checked my school email last night, but haven’t checked my personal email in a few days. Why do you care Wynonna?” Waverly tries not to be grumpy, but like many of Shorty’s patrons, she’s got horns before her morning caffeine.

“You’ve gone viral!” Wynonna cheers, pulling up the cover on Waverly’s phone. Waverly has to rub her eyes because there’s no way 428,448 views is the right amount. “Yeah, rub your eyes baby sis, but it’s real.” Waverly is in disbelief. Before she posted the video she had sung in front of people maybe twice before. She much preferred to keep in in her bedroom.   

“No.” Is all she says, before her disbelief transforms into fear. Her singing the second gayest song is on the internet. Wynonna has got to suspect. People she doesn’t know have got to suspect. 

“Oh yeah baby girl!” Wynonna laughs, then squeals, “Oh my god Waves, I’m checking your email,” Waverly makes a face, but Wynonna continues, “A record company wants to meet with you!”

Waverly slows her breathing and okay, she can admit it, her fear has turned into panic. She’s not ready for all this change. She’s just figuring out the whole bisexual thing, she’s not ready to leave school and Shorty’s and everything she knows and everything that’s safe for some singing career that may turn to shit the moment her secrets out. She’s not a musician. She’s a bartender; she’s a law student; she’s a barista, but she’s not a musician. She hasn’t even shown Doc what she’s written, let alone the world. “I’m emailing the executives back and saying you’ll meet them!” Wynonna says matter-of-factly. 

“I can’t; I have school and work.” The excuse is weak and Waverly knows it, but she doesn’t care, she’s terrified. Wynonna’s gaze softens and she wiggles herself until she’s next to Waverly and pulls the younger girl into a hug.

“I know it’s scary baby girl.” Wynonna whispers, planting a soft kiss on Waverly’s temple. “But, this could be good for you. Shorty’s isn’t going anywhere and you can always go back to school.” Wynonna pauses, letting Waverly rest her head against her older sister’s shoulder. “There’s no guarantee it’ll turn into anything and even if it does, I’ll take on more shifts at Shorty’s. What do you think?” When Wynonna looks at her with those eyes, a smile crosses her face.

“Okay...”

“Okay?”

“Okay.”


	2. ...no? (okay, yes)

“It’s all typical things, really.” Purgatory Records’ lawyer, who’s name Waverly has long forgotten, drones on. Luckily Xavier really likes contractual law because Waverly can’t stand it. She passed the class, she knew the information, probably still does, but damn is it the most boring type of law. When Waverly started law school, her plan was to be a lawyer for abused women and children; hell that was her plan up until last week. She doesn’t want some of the most vulnerable people to have vultures, at least that’s what she tells herself. Diving into the real reason would hurt too much. 

Xavier’s eyes scrutinize the last few pages of the contract and Waverly prays this meeting will end soon because she’s bored out of her mind. She’s been reduced to picking at her neatly manicured cuticles, which is not an easy feat. “What’s this last clause here?” Xavier points, pushing his glasses up his nose. 

“Ms. Earp said she wrote music. We ask that she writes at least 2 of the 12 songs on her album, but she’s allowed to write as many as 8 originals.” The lawyer says gruffly. Waverly can tell he’s not thrilled with Dolls’ thorough review of the contract. He would rather Waverly just nod and smile. He would rather have a pretty face with no brain.

Xavier hums slightly, probably in concentration, as he flips to the last page of the large document. Waverly nearly cheers when he takes off his glasses, setting them next to the mounds of paperwork that’s taunted Waverly for the past three hours. She appreciates Xavier’s vigilance but she wishes the contract wasn’t so freaking long. “Okay, Mr. Del Rey, I have to confer with my client here, but it sounds like we’ve got a deal.” Waverly’s grin grows as the two men shake hands and the lawyer leaves her with Dolls. “So,” a grin crosses Xavier’s face, “You need the cliff notes version?” Waverly laughs; she did pay some attention, but she could use the recap, so she nods. “12 song album, you write 2-8 songs of that and a song reaches the top 100, you go on a national tour. Can you handle all that?”

Waverly knows Dolls isn’t being condescending, but for a moment there is doubt. It takes all the confidence she has, but she nods. “I’ve already got a full song I can revise and I’ve been tinkering with another. The two share a smile and Waverly can feel Xavier’s eyes on her. The lawyer is a man of few words, but Waverly’s pretty sure he’s beaming with pride. Xavier and Wynonna had been fooling around when Waverly first decided to go to law school and he had helped her study and bought her a drink when she got her first acceptance. He really seemed to care about her law school career and her newfound career. Minutes later she’s signing her name across the dotted line and she’s officially a musician.

* * *

The first time Nicole saunters into Shorty’s, she barely thinks about the fact that Waverly will be smiling at her from the register. Okay, she thinks about it, a lot, but it’s not why she goes in with a smile. The cappuccino really was one of the better coffees she’s had in a while and she’s jonesing for more caffeine. Because she is writing an article on the coffee shop, she has to vary her order, but she thinks she’s going to try and fluster Waverly again by asking for recommendations and maybe add an innuendo or two in there.

Her plans kind of fall apart when she wanders into the shop and hears, “Look, I gave you the right thing. You may be able to fool Waverly, but not me.” Instead of the gentle brunette behind the counter, there’s a taller woman, undoubtedly Waverly’s sister, probably older, with fiery green eyes and a frown on her face. An older woman with short greying hair appears, giving Waverly’s sister a critical look before shooing her back to the counter and remedying the customer’s order.

“Are you going to order or just stare.” The girl with the angry eyes snaps, and this time it’s Nicole who’s caught off guard. She means to tell the girl she’s a journalist writing a piece on Shorty’s, but she just babbles something about liking the other barista better, to which Waverly’s sister sneers “join the club”.

“Can I get a mocha?” Nicole finally says ordering another basic drink, resolving to ask Waverly what she recommends next time she sees the shorter girl. The green-eyed woman nods, and puts in the order before ringing Nicole up. She had initially planned to stay and write from the café but now it just didn’t feel right, so with drink in hand, she found her way back to her car.

* * *

“I’m telling you X, every freaking day, it’s been like a week.” Wynonna whines. The two Earps and Dolls are at Gus’s house for their monthly dinner (well, Wynonna and Dolls’ monthy dinner; Waverly and Gus have dinner together weekly) and Wynonna sits while Dolls sets the table. She’s never very helpful at dinner, but once she tried and it ended in the fire alarm getting it’s batteries removed and them getting take-out. Now she’s banished to the table area. 

“Oh Wynonna. Let the girl be.” Gus sighs, pushing the peppers and knife towards Waverly, signaling her to start the preparation. The conversation quickly piques Waverly’s interests since Wynonna and Gus both know this girl, the complaint must be with a Shorty’s customer. Waverly isn’t the biggest fan of gossip, but she misses Shorty’s and will take her dose of it in any possible form.

“Who is this?” Waverly asks timidly, chopping like a mad man, before throwing the pieces into the frying pan. 

“This ass,” Wynonna starts, receiving an annoyed look and a grunt from Gus, “This Shorty’s customer, she comes in every day at different times with a smile on her face, then she sees me and her face falls. Every single time. It looks like she wants to say something or ask me something, but she never does. Never the same order either.” Wynonna scoffs and Waverly’s head starts to spin, wondering if Wynonna could be talking about the redhead who seems to frequent Waverly’s dreams as of late.

“Hm.” Waverly knows if she doesn’t continue to bait Wynonna, her older sister will change the subject within a few moments. The idea of Nicole possibly going to Shorty’s and possibly being disappointed when it wasn’t Waverly behind the counter puts the slightest smile on her face. Maybe, just maybe, Waverly would have to scope the situation out for herself.

* * *

Nicole comes to Shorty’s for the next week at differing times, always trying to catch Waverly, but each time catching her sister, who’s name she’s learned to be Wynonna. She orders a variety of the basics, but she never feels comfortable enough to ask about what’s good or special there. She’s pretty sure that Wynonna will give her a sarcastic answer, but on the sixth day, she resolves to ask even if Waverly isn’t standing at the counter. It seems to be a busy day at the small coffee shop, but Nicole recognizes a few faces.

In the past week Wynonna had definitely calmed down, but it still only takes seconds before Nicole knows she’ll be dealing with Wynonna and not Waverly. The presence of the older manager, Gus, is a dead giveaway. Waverly didn’t seem to need to be supervised like Wynonna does. She’s standing in between a man in a suit and a middle-aged mom and her three kids, all of whom have to be under four or five. She contemplates smiling at the kids, but middle-aged white moms are actually kind of the worst. 

“I feel like I should pity you Xavier, except I grew up with her and I live with her now.” Nicole swings around, earning a nasty look from the blonde behind her, because she would know that voice anywhere.

“I heard that!” Wynonna shouts from behind the counter, ushering the man in the suit forward. Just a passing glance of Waverly’s smile reassures Nicole that she’s really, really gay. She tries to politely exit the line, ducking her head, but the mom still seems upset.

Summoning all the Sapphic confidence she can, Nicole approaches the voice. Waverly sees her before she can speak and the smile is back again, melting Nicole into a puddle of goo. “Nicole! Hi!!” Nicole smiles, her hand self-consciously reaching for her face. She’s not sure why she’s self-conscious about her dimples, but she has been since she can remember. When Nicole doesn’t respond with Waverly’s name, an alarming look clouds her eyes. “Oh heavens! I never introduced myself. I’m Waverly.”

“Waverly.” Nicole smiles, taking Waverly’s outstretched hand and trying the name out on her tongue, because it’s the first time she’s actually said the girl’s name aloud. Nicole’s aware her eyes don’t leave Waverly’s but she’s entranced. She could have sworn they were a brown last time she saw Waverly, but now they’re definitely blue. “You’ve bailed on me huh?” Nicole smiles, leaning over the third chair at the table, suddenly very aware of the man sitting perpendicular to her.

A smile crosses Waverly’s eyes, but Nicole can no longer read her eyes. “Sit and maybe I’ll tell you about it.” Who would Nicole be to say no the shorter brunette? She sits and the smile on Waverly’s face grows. “I’ve actually been working with Dolls here on some, uh, music stuff.”

Nicole can’t say she’s surprised Waverly is trying to break into the music industry. From what little she’s heard of the girl’s voice, Waverly is pretty talented. “You’re musical are you?” Nicole asks, like she hasn’t watched and listened to Waverly’s cover more than a few times.

“Kinda.” Nicole’s gaze softens on Waverly’s when she hears the she response, like Waverly isn’t sure if yes is the right answer. It kind of breaks Nicole to hear this talented girl before her isn’t aware of just how amazing she is.

“I should go check on Gus; I know how much of a…” The man sitting opposite of Waverly, Dolls, says, pausing as if searching for a word, “handful Wyn can be.” That seems to cheer Waverly up as she chokes on a chuckle.

The women just kind of look at each other for a few moments and it’s like they’re teenagers in a cheesy movie, if only for a small span of time. “So,” Nicole finally breaks the silence, “I’ve been meaning to ask, what’s good here? Like what’s special about Shorty’s, besides the barista.” Nicole’s not sure if Waverly will understand she’s talking about the shorter Earp and not the Earp with anger issues, but Waverly blushes and Nicole feels pretty accomplished.

“We do a mean hot cocoa.” Waverly smiles, not quite meeting Nicole’s eyes. Nicole takes a pen out and scribbles that on her arm, because of course this is the one day she’s forgotten her notepad.

A small giggle escapes Waverly and Nicole looks up to find the girl smiling. She’s not sure this girl ever stops smiling, but she’s pretty sure that’s okay. “Are you quoting me on your arm?” 

“I told you I’m a journalist.” Nicole winks before her phone starts to ring. Waverly pouts and Nicole can barely pay attention to what Nedley is saying because oh lord Waverly’s pout is adorable. When her editor finally stops yammering, Nicole hangs up the phone and sighs. “I have to go.” 

Waverly definitely doesn’t look thrilled, but what does Nicole know. “Fine,” the brunette sighs, “but at least let me get you a hot cocoa, on the house, and I’ll even make it myself to make sure Wynonna doesn’t spit in it.” Nicole really needs to start associating the word no with pretty girls.

She sighs, and agrees to let Waverly send her off with a cup. “Kissing up to the journalist, very smart move.” Nicole can’t be sure of Waverly’s reaction since her entire body is hidden behind the coffee machines, but Waverly’s cheeks are pink when she hands Nicole her hot chocolate. “See you around Waverly.” Nicole sends a smile and wink over her shoulder before trudging out the door, cursing her boss for needing her. 

* * *

Waverly is not amused when the redhead leaves the coffee shop. She’s speechless. She’s and Nicole’s and Jesus, she’s got it bad. She doesn’t understand how someone she barely knows can make her so gooey and emotional. As much as she doesn’t want to be that artist that just sings about crushes, she really needs to get everything out on paper. She’s about to race out of the coffee shop when Wynona intercepts her. “So Miss. Stick-Up-Her-Ass has been looking for you huh?”

Waverly loves her sister, but she does not have the patience for the older girl. “Her name’s Nicole, and she’s a journalist writing a piece on Shorty’s. Now, I’m going to run home. I’ll be back at five for dinner.” Wynonna nods, letting Waverly escape to her car. 

She misses dinner, but she gives birth to song with great potential.


	3. define other

Waverly wishes she didn’t remember last night. Had the memories been gone, Waverly could blame the choices she had made on the guise of alcohol, but alas, she remembers (almost) every moment. 

Yesterday had been a long day, starting with Waverly finally recording her first song. Waverly imagined it would’ve been an exciting time, a time of celebration. She had organized to go out for drinks with Wynonna, Xavier, and Doc after work. Only, it hadn’t been fun or something to celebrate. Waverly would do something and moments later Bobo would be yelling at her. She couldn’t do anything right; that is until Wynonna and Xavier stopped by and then he was all sunshine and rainbows. 

Waverly had been near tears when Wynonna swooped in to pick her up for their night. Waverly had always been the more emotional of the two, but she tries so hard to keep it close to  her chest. She swallowed the tears and pushed the emotions aside. Wynonna was so excited for Waverly, still is, and Waverly wasn’t going to take that away from her. 

When they got to the bar, Waverly was all too eager to down the first beer, but neither Wynonna nor Xavier noticed, and Doc only gave her a funny look before indulging himself. Waverly remembered doing one, two, three drinks before she saw a flash of red hair among the crowd. 

With a burst of confidence she had approached Nicole with a giggle and “Hey Haught stuff!” She could still smell the alcohol on Nicole’s breath as the other girl giggled. Fortunately the specifics of the flirting are fuzzy for Waverly, as she’s positive that everything she had said was humiliating. What isn’t fuzzy, is the feeling of their bodies pressed together, moving together. She remembers vividly boldly pulling Nicole down to her so she could kiss the redhead. She remembers the hours of being intoxicated with Nicole’s perfume.

Waverly remembers Nicole going to grab a few more beers and whining when Nicole let go of her. She remembers Wynonna nearly dragging her out of the bar because it was time to go. She’s still puzzled as to how Xavier got Wynonna to leave before last call. Waverly’s got to wonder how much Nicole remembers. She contemplates texting Nicole, but if Nicole doesn’t remember anything is it worth bringing it up. Is it worth the embarrassment? From what Waverly remembers, Nicole wasn’t exactly complaining, but for all Waverly knows, she’s only into girls when she’s tipsy. 

“Waves,” Waverly sighs, a smile crossing her face as she looked up to see her older sister sauntering into the coffee shop. “How’s your head?” Wynonna smirks knowingly, and Waverly just rolls her eyes. Her hangover had been week compared to the bruises under her neck that she had covered in make-up from the night before. Just thinking about them brought a light blush to Waverly’s face. If the entire town hadn’t known she was into girls, any one in that bar knew after last night. 

“Fine. Wyn, I barely drank last night.” Waverly laughs lightly, “At least for an Earp.” It’s well known that the Earps have a slightly higher alcohol tolerance than that of the rest of the small town. 

Wynonna sniggers slightly, before  slinging her arm over Waverly’s shoulders. “Well good. You studied Latin or some shit like that right?” Waverly laughs, nodding. Wynonna tries to keep up, she really does, but she’s just so bad at it. “Dolls could use your help. Some whack job Black Badge is prosecuting wrote in Latin of all things. He thinks it might help their case if he can decipher it.” Waverly nods, but her insides start to tangle. She wants to help Xavier, especially considering all he’s done for her, especially lately, but Black Badge is right next to the Purgatory Times offices and a certain redhead that Waverly may or may not be trying to avoid works just there. 

Logically, she’s pretty sure she’ll have to talk to Nicole at some point, but Waverly’s not eager to get to that point nor is she eager for Wynonna to be with her when it occurs. In the end her loyalty to Xavier wins out and before she knows it she’s in the car with her sister on the way to the law offices.

* * *

Nicole’s memory is a little fuzzy. Beer after beer, shot after shot, she was without a doubt hammered last night. Her memories were fuzzy until she sees the small brunette eyes scrunched, intently focusing on a few scattered letters in the shared break room space. She probably should’ve figured she’d run into Waverly, as she’s vaguely aware of the smaller Earp’s connection to Xavier Dolls, the star lawyer at Black Badge. 

She contemplates going over there, but she’s not sure what she’d say. ‘Hey, last night was fun. Oh, in case you can’t remember we danced much too close and provokadevley for friends and I sucked a bruise into your neck. Don’t know if you’re just into girls when you’re intoxicated, but I really like you’ just doesn’t seem to roll off the tongue. Nicole can taste Waverly on her lips and in a moment of boldness, Nicole bursts through the door, making Waverly look up and meet Nicole’s gaze.

By the blush on Waverly’s face, Nicole gathers she’s not the only one with memories of the previous night. With a smirk, Nicole moves her eyes from Waverly’s collar bone to her chin. She doesn’t see the mark she expected she had left, but if when she looks hard enough, she can see a spot right where she remembers where the skin color doesn’t quite match the rest. “Uh, Nicole, Ms. Haught.” Waverly coughs, looking nervous.

“Waverly.” Nicole saunters to the coffee maker, keeping her gaze on Waverly. “Waverly, do I scare you?” Her tongue flicks against her teeth, raising an eyebrow. Nicole has had her fair share of flirtations with straight and questioning girls, but none quite intrigued her like Waverly Earp.

“No.” Waverly’s voice barely registers over a whisper. It’s weary and unsure, but Nicole doesn’t want to push her, not too far. “You don’t.” Waverly adds, more certain than before. Nicole nods, realizing how condescending she probably appears to Waverly. “You don’t scare me Nicole.” Waverly adds again, overworking the point so much that Nicole is pretty sure she scares the shit out of Waverly.

Nicole figures maybe she’ll just push her one last time, one last bit. “What does scare you Waverly Earp?” Nicole asks. She tries to keep her eyes on Waverly, but they fall to her lips and shoot back up more than a few times. 

Waverly gulps, her eyes finding the floor. She looks like she wants to say something, but she doesn’t. Each time she opens her mouth, she closes it moments later. “Come by Shorty’s tonight.” Waverly says hesitantly, biting her lip. “You’ll see.” Nicole wants to press, wants to know more about this fear, but her phone beeps and she knows she’s got to go. With a wave and a wink, she’s finding her way back to work, her coffee completely forgotten.

 

* * *

Nicole doesn’t get off until seven and she’s definitely not pleased with that. She wanted to stop by Shorty’s earlier, just in order to check out what was occurring, but alas, she’s stuck stopping by with no idea what she’ll walk into. She’s not sure what to expect, as she’s not sure what would frighten Waverly. She’s not sure what she expects, but it certainly isn’t what she gets. 

Waverly is sitting on up on the small Shorty’s stage, guitar in her lap, fiddling with the tuners. The strange young man called Doc sits nearby behind a small drum set up, shooting Waverly an encouraging grin. “Um, hey guys, I guess I’ll be performing live for y’all.” Waverly gulps and Nicole wonders if this is what Waverly is so afraid of, preforming live. “So, this is, uh” She shoots a nervous glance and Doc, a cover of ‘Gravel to Tempo’.” Waverly gives a small smile but Nicole can see the fear gather in her eyes. 

It finally dawns on Nicole. It’s not the performance or song choice or her sexuality that Waverly fears. It’s the judgment. She’s afraid of what the small town will think if they learn the meaning behind the words that flow beautifully from Waverly. She’s afraid what the small town will think of her voice. Nicole’s heard the Earp legends, so she expects Waverly’s been worried about her reputation and people’s perceptions of her her entire life. Nicole thinks maybe Waverly’s been doing what other people want her entire life and maybe, now, with the music thing, she’s starting to come into her own.

Nicole gets lost in the girls gaze, which happened to be a clouded green today. She doesn’t know if she’ll ever know what color Waverly’s eyes truly are, but she’s not sure she cares. “Ay, Haught!” Nicole recognizes the voice as belonging to Wynonna, Waverly’s grumpy older sister, but drink in hand she seems to be in rather a good mood. “Sorry about before Haught. Had I known you just wanted to bang my little sis I would’ve been way harder on you.” Had Nicole had had a drink, she would’ve spit it out in shock, but luckily, her mouth just goes dry and her jaw hangs open lamely. “Look, I’ll level with you,” Wynonna winks and Nicole can see the pain and experience on Wynonna’s face. She can see that the girl’s been through shit and she kind of just wants to hug her. An aching in Nicole’s heart makes her want to pull Wynonna into a hug and tell her someday she’ll find a man and he’ll treat her right, like she deserves. Someday she’ll get out from under the rumors. “You’re not Champ, so I’m fine with you trying to get in Waves’ pants.” In that moment it hits Nicole, she doesn’t know how Wynonna’s found out about her crush, but then again, from what Nicole remembers from the night before they weren’t exactly being discrete. Nicole gasps when Wynonna pulls her in by the collar of her shirt. “But if you hurt her, I will put you down. Do you understand?” Suddenly Nicole feels like she’s sixteen again and facing the father of her first date. Eyes wide, she nods quickly. “Right.” Wynonna releases Nicole within seconds and Wynonna smiles a smile Nicole has yet to see. “Hey Waves. By Haught.” Wynonna winks before slinking away. 

“Hi.” Waverly smiles and Nicole swears no matter how many times Waverly Earp smiles it will always melt Nicole into a puddle. 

“I liked the song.” Nicole says genuinely, but also testing Waverly. “Correct me if I’m wrong Waverly, but you’re into other women aren't you.” 

Waverly’s eyes skirt around the room before Waverly clears her throat. “Define other women.” Nicole can see the nervous ticks from Waverly’s hands, to her neck to her lips. 

Nicole clicks her tongue a few times, contemplating her answer. “Any woman other than yourself.” Waverly bites her lip nervously, but Nicole keeps a light gaze upon her. “Waverly, would you like to go on a date… with me?” Nicole’s asked out countless girls but she hadn’t been this frightened in nearly ten years. 

A small smile grows on Waverly’s face and her eyes start to glow. “Yeah.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> insp for waverly's cover : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxVCA184rXA

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi to me on tumblr (my-queer-frenchs-scars) where you'll find the social media au that goes along with this!
> 
> http://my-queer-french-scars.tumblr.com/tagged/musician+au


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